Crazy Stupid Love
by edwestick.chuckbass.lover
Summary: AU. Follows the lives and romantic tales of 6 of our favorite upper east siders, as they try to figure out this thing called Crazy Stupid Love. Chuck and Blair. Nate and Serena. Rufus and Lily. (Plot based off of the movie Crazy Stupid Love). Better description inside. Rated T for now, minor sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

**In this story, Blair and Serena are best friends and so are Nate and Chuck. They don't know each other. They are all around the college age. **

**Lily and Rufus are having problems with their marriage when Rufus meets the ladies man, Nate, who desperately wants to help him find women to be with to get over his wife. So what will happen when Lily begins to rethink her request of a divorce? Will Rufus refuse because he's enjoying his new life that much, or will he take her back into his too-forgiving arms? **

**Blair is trying to get over a serious relationship and she meets Chuck at a bar. What happens when something that starts as a one-night stand turns into something more? Of course, anything with Chair is much more complicated than that and will involve a ton of drama along the way.**

**Serena and Nate are both into the party scene but what happens when they both begin to want to settle down with one another? And what about when Serena and Nate's new friend Rufus find out that he's been hiding a secret from both of them? **

**Based off of the plot from the movie Crazy Stupid Love.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl, any of the characters, or the storyline from Crazy Stupid Love.**

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Rufus Humphrey called jokingly, as he sat his briefcase down on the counter. Lily was sitting at the island bar, by herself, staring down at the glass of wine that sat in front of her. The kitchen was dark. Rufus' heart filled with dread as he immediately sensed that something was wrong. To avoid all confrontation, he continued to talk. "You can't imagine my day at work. The secretary gave me the wrong papers and I-"

"I slept with someone," Lily interjected.

Rufus didn't even hesitate. He had heard her. Yes, he had heard her. Loud and clear. She'd slept with someone. "And so I ended up filling out the wrong thing. It took my hours to correct and I have the worst headache-"

"I want a divorce," Lily interrupted again.

"Yes," Rufus nodded. "Well, I'm going to lie down." He turned and left her in the kitchen, heading towards the room, where he laid down on the bed, letting out a loud sigh. What was wrong with him?

"Rufus," Lily's voice came from the doorway. He looked up at her. She was standing in the doorway of their bedroom, the place where they expressed their love to one another, looking cold and frustrated, with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. "You aren't listening to me. I slept with someone. It was a mistake. I regretted it the moment it happened. It was just me and Bart Bass alone in the office at work and-"

"Stop talking," Rufus said, feeling lightheaded.

"And one thing led to another and-"

"I said stop!" Rufus said, standing up. He hadn't even realized that there were suitcases and boxes in their bedroom. His things had been packed up. This was it. "Wait, you're serious?" he asked, taking in the sight. "You really want a divorce?"

"Well…" she paused. "Yeah." Seeing the look on his face, she ran to his side. "Look, Rufus, I love you. And I'm not leaving you for Bart, if that's what you think. I just need some time to be alone and really think about things."

"You slept with another man and _you _have to think about things?" Rufus asked in disbelief. He shook his head and grabbed his suitcases, rolling them behind him as he left the room. He couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Lily stared at him, confused and concerned. "This is the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened to me."

Lily frowned. "I-I'm sorry. I am not the type of woman to sleep with someone who's not her husband. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. So why have I become that? I need to figure that out. I just don't think our marriage is where either of us want it to be. I think time apart would do us both good." She swallowed hard, touching his cheek. He flinched away from her. Tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Just don't," Rufus said. "If a divorce is what you want, that's what you'll get." He yanked his suitcases behind him and got into the elevator, not saying another word, not even looking back at her, just leaving his wife standing there in the hallway. The elevator wasn't moving fast enough. He punched the button, punched it again, before it finally moved. "Bart Bass," he murmured under his breath. "Of all the people."

* * *

Blair Waldorf was laying in her bed, eating chocolate ice cream out of a tub, and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, for what had to be the hundredth time today. Her best friend Serena stormed in. "Blair! What do you say we go out tonight?" she asked, not at all surprised at what Blair was doing. This was what she had been doing, every Saturday and Sunday night, since the breakup.

Blair stared at her. "I just turned on Tiffany's."

Serena looked at her in disbelief. "I know you've already watched it about ten times today." She picked up the remote and turned the television off. Blair looked as if Serena had just slapped her across the face. Then, Serena reached her hand out. "Give me the ice cream."

"No," Blair said, digging her spoon into it and stuffing it into her mouth.

"Give it," Serena said, more sternly.

"Fine," Blair sighed, handing it over to her in defeat.

Serena smiled as she took the bucket of ice cream from her. "Now, go shower. I'll pick you out something to wear. We are going out and we are going to get drunk and we are going to have fun. Blair sighed obnoxiously and rose to her feet slowly. Serena gave her a look and Blair yelled "okay, okay, okay" before running into the bathroom. Serena dug the spoon into the ice cream and finished eating the rest of it, before throwing it into the garbage can beside her best friend's bed. She danced over to her closet and began searching through her expensive dresses, trying to find a black one that hugged her best friend's curves. Then, she selected an outfit for herself as well.

Serena had gotten sick of going out to bars and clubs with Penelope and the other girls. They were all so annoying and acted like they were all still stuck in high school. Serena missed hanging out with Blair but watching Tiffany's a hundred times a day and hearing Blair complain about how her boyfriend of four years, Louis, had left her for a lower-class girl named Jenny Humphrey. So, she had taken it upon herself to force Blair to go out with her tonight, hoping she would meet someone who could take her mind off of things.

Blair wasn't much like Serena. She wasn't into one-night-stands and she had always been in serious relationships. Serena loved to party and hook up with guys. And that's why they were good for each other. Blair was the calm that kept Serena at bay and Serena was the side of Blair that forced her to not take life so seriously all the damn time. They were perfect for one another. They were the perfect best friends.

Blair came out several minutes later, her face dolled up just right, and her hair in loose curls around her face. Serena grinned at her, knowing it was going to be a good night.

* * *

"Nathaniel Archibald," Chuck Bass said into the phone, coolly, answering his best friend's phone call. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What are you up to tonight?" Nate asked. "I was thinking we could go grab a drink at the bar or something."

"Sounds great," Chuck said, crossing his legs as he scanned the newspaper in front of him for any important information. "I'll call the limo around and we'll come pick you up." He folded the newspaper perfect and ended his phone call. He stood up, straightening out his suit, smoothing out his lapels. He knew he looked good, he always did. He needed to leave the bar with a girl tonight. It had been so long - too long - since he had.

In some ways, he had grown out of his womanizing stage. But in other ways, he was still the same kid he was in high school. Right now, he just needed to get laid. It had been far too long for Chuck Bass to go without sex. He just hadn't had an interest lately. Tonight would have to change that. He ran a hand through his dark hair and checked himself in the mirror before proceeding to call his limo driver, Arthur.

* * *

"No no no," Serena said, interrupting Blair as they sat at the bar. Blair had already had quite a bit to drink and was currently in the throes of bashing Jenny Humphrey, again. "I don't want to hear about Jenny. I don't want to hear about Louis. I want to hear about-" she paused, looking around, just in time to see two cute guys walk into the bar. One of them was tall with an athletic build, dirty blonde hair, an amazing grin with pearly white teeth on his face and piercing blue eyes. The other was tan-skinned and muscular, with dark hair, gelled perfectly, dark brown eyes, strong facial features, and a strong jawline. "How hot those boys that just came in are."

Blair turned on her stool just in time to catch a glimpse of the one with dark hair. She was a sucker for dark hair and dark eyes. Her eyes went wide as he caught her staring at him and she whipped around. "Oh my god," she said to Serena. "He is so attractive. And I think he just saw me staring at him."

"So?" Serena said, throwing a flirty wave to the one with blonde hair.

They had seated themselves at the other end of the bar and Blair could feel the guy's eyes on her. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore it. She and Serena talked casually until the bartender sat two martinis in front of them. Blair looked up, in time to see the bartender motion over to the attractive boys. Blair blushed as her eyes caught with the guy's. He seemed to stare straight into her. This sent a tingling chill down her spine. She flirted in the only way she knew how to - batting her eyelashes.

As if taking this as some sort of signal or cue, the dark-haired man stood up, making his way over to Blair, never taking her eyes off of her. Blair felt herself tense up as her heart fluttered violently in her chest. "B, he's coming over here!" Serena whispered into her ear excitedly. "He's totally into you!" Blair turned to look at her, touching her hair self-consciously. Serena batted her hand away. "You look great, B, no worries."

"What about you?" Blair asked. "Aren't you going to go flirt with the blonde one?"

Serena's eyes traveled over to the boy who was still sitting across the bar. He winked at her, watching her. "I don't know," Serena said. "I'm thinking about playing hard to get with this one."

"What?" Blair asked disbelievingly.

"Don't make me sound like such a slut-" Serena stopped suddenly, realizing the guy who was hitting on Blair had made his way over to her. She gave Blair a gentle push off of the stool, who fell into the guy next to her, who turned around and looked as if he might punch someone. "Sorry," Serena mouthed at the guy as Blair gave her a dirty look.

Blair turned to face the extremely attractive guy in front of her, still in awe of the fact that he had come to talk to her, and also slightly fearing that he might actually want to talk to Serena. After all, Serena was always the prettier one, the funnier one, the hotter one. With that bubbly personality, those blonde locks, that perfect tan, those legs that went on for miles. And Blair was just normal. She was so average-looking in comparison to Serena. Or, at least, she thought. She knew others didn't agree with that, but it would always be a competition with Serena. "Hi," she breathed out to the guy before her.

"_I'm Chuck Bass." _He had said it in such a seductive tone. And if it wasn't so expecting, it might have worked.

Her breath caught in her throat and she let out a loud laugh. He looked confused, which made her laugh again. "Was that your pick-up line?"

This made him laugh too. It hadn't ever not worked before. Usually just his name made women fall at his feet or jump into his arms. "Yeah, it's horrible isn't it," he agreed, a smile breaking out across his handsome features.

"Does that actually work?" Blair asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, it usually does," Chuck grinned back at her. His eyes met hers. "So did it work this time?"

Blair shrugged. "It made me smile."

"Yeah, well that was the goal," Chuck replied smoothly.

Blair blushed. "Alright," she said. "So what, do you want to buy me another drink or something?" She said, nodding over at her already empty martini glass. "Did you want me to go home with you or something?"

She felt Serena nudge her in the back, begging her to stop.

"Well," Chuck said, straightening his tie. "Usually women aren't so forward with me. Usually they put up a little bit of a fight."

She shrugged again. "Call me crazy. It's your lucky night." She linked her arm in his. She didn't know why she was doing it. He was so good-looking and it was so in-the-moment but she was so sick of sitting around and moping around about Louis and thinking of him with Jenny every second of the day. She needed something that would take her mind off of it. And this was what Serena usually did, so maybe it would work for her. "S," she said, turning to her friend, who snickered at her. "I will be going home with Mr. Bass for the evening."

"You don't have to talk like you're an escort," Serena said. Blair gave her a look and if looks could kill, Serena was sure she'd be dead. "Alright, alright. Well, don't kill her," she said to Chuck, who laughed. "If you're not back by noon tomorrow I'll call the police." She kissed her best friend lightly on the cheek. "Have fun! Use protection!" She called after them as they exited the bar.

Blair groaned and closed her eyes. This was so embarrassing. "Sorry about her," she said to Chuck. "She's had a little too much to drink." Suddenly, she stepped the wrong way and almost fell, her ankle twisting underneath her. Chuck caught her around the waist, which sent a warm glow over her skin. She tried to ignore it.

"And apparently so have you," Chuck laughed, helping her stand up. He led her over to a limo, where he held the door open.

"You have a limo?" Blair asked incredulously.

Chuck nodded. "_I'm Chuck Bass."_

Blair rolled her eyes and giggled. "He has a limo. Of course he has a limo."

He held his hand out for her and helped her inside the limo.

* * *

Back at the bar, Serena had just received a phone call from her mother, who had told her about the divorce. She didn't sound sad at all, but Serena still thought maybe she should go talk to her. She took that as her cue to go home and be with her mother. Sadly, that meant no more flirting from across the bar with the cute blonde boy. She sighed, deciding her mom was more important than another one-night-stand. She could hook up with a cute boy any night. Tonight, her mother needed her. She stood up and waved a flirty little wave at the boy, before stepping out of the bar.

Nathaniel sighed when his muse for the night left. He ordered another scotch and kicked it back, deciding maybe he should just go home alone tonight. After all, it had been a while since he'd spent a Saturday night at home alone. He could just smoke some weed and play some video games, have some quality Nate time. Unless Chuck and the girl he had just taken home were still at it by the time he got home.

It was then that he noticed a man across the room, sitting in the corner, at a table by himself, staring down at his shaky hands and ignoring the girl who was trying to flirt with him. Nate felt strongly as if he should go talk to the man and he wasn't sure why. He pushed the urge out of his mind, taking another swig of alcohol. That was, until he saw the guy's shoulders shake and realized he was either crying or about to cry. He jumped up and made his way through the crowded bar over to the man. "Hey, man, you okay?" Nate asked.

Rufus looked up at him, his eyes red. He wasn't crying. He had done enough of that back at the loft before he had come to the bar. Now, he was just numb and drunk. "She slept with Bart Bass."

"What?" Nate asked.

"My wife!" Rufus exclaimed, and Nate took note of the golden wedding band on his finger.

Nate sat down across from him at the table. "I'm so sorry. That must suck." He paused. "Did you say Bart Bass?"

"Yeah," Rufus muttered. "Do you know him?"

"I've met him a few times," Nate said. "I'm really close with his son. They don't get along. He always seemed like an ass to me." He reached over and patted Rufus on the shoulder, shaking him a bit. "You're wife must be incredibly dumb to cheat on a guy like you with a guy like him."

"He's rich, isn't he?" Rufus asked.

Nate hesitated. "Well I don't - I don't know that that's important…" He breathed. Rufus stared at him. "Okay, yeah, the dude's loaded."

Rufus groaned loudly and threw his hands up into the air. "Can't a guy ever get a break!?"

"What's your name?"

"Rufus."

"Well, Rufus, I think there are much better things you could be doing instead of moping around about your silly wife when there is a bar full of hot, desperate women around you," Nate said. "You seem like a really cool guy and any of these women would be lucky to have you."

"Really?" Rufus looked up at him. "Thanks." He smiled sheepishly. "Who are you, again?"

"Nate Archibald," he said. "But let's just call me a friend." He took a napkin from the slot next to him and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He wrote down his phone number. "I've got to get home, got some things to do, but call me tomorrow and we're going shopping." Rufus looked at him strangely. "Well, if we're going to get you to be a ladies man, we need a new wardrobe! You gotta give me something here to work with."

"A ladies man?" Rufus asked. "I don't know about that…"

"It's possible," Nate said. "Believe me."

"Why are you doing this?" Rufus asked. "I'm a pathetic forty year-old man and you hardly know me."

"Because you seem pretty cool. And I don't think it's fair that your wife is sleeping in her bed happily, while you're sitting over here all down in the dumps. It's not your fault you married someone unfaithful," Nate said. "Also, I like a challenge." He smirked and stood up, holding his hand out. "I expect to hear from you tomorrow."

Rufus shook his hand, still staring at him in shock.

"This is going to be fun, trust me," Nate said. "We'll have you looking great and banging ladies by next weekend." And with one last firm smile, he turned and left the bar, leaving Rufus feeling pretty good about himself.

Rufus turned to the woman next to him. "Hey," he said.

She gave him a dirty look and returned to talking to her girlfriend.

"It's a work in progress," Rufus muttered under his breath, snapping his finger at a waitress to bring him another drink.

* * *

When Chuck and Blair got off of the elevator at his suite, Blair looked around in awe. "This place looks really good for being the home of two boys," Blair said.

He chuckled, walking over to the bar and popping open a bottle of wine. She followed him and sat down at his bar as he poured her a glass of wine. "Lights," Chuck called. "Dim." The lights dimmed themselves into a romantic setting. "Music," he called. A song by Ed Sheeran started playing softly.

Blair smiled at the corniness of it all. It was kind of funny, actually.

"What's so funny?" Chuck asked.

"It's just cheesy," Blair said. "I can't believe this works on other girls." She took a sip of her wine and looked at Chuck, almost spitting her drink out everywhere at the look on his face. "Oh, don't look so hurt!" She said, touching him gently on the shoulder. "I don't mean it like that. I'm sure it gets you loads of ladies, so it doesn't matter what one girl thinks."

Chuck shook his head.

Blair suddenly jumped out of her seat. "This is my song!" She cheered. "Turn it up!" Chuck did as she asked and the song "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift boomed over the speakers as Blair began to dance around the living room, singing to a pretend microphone in her fist. She bounced up and down and danced freely around the room. Chuck laughed loudly at her and watched her. After a few minutes of her dancing around like crazy, he walked up behind her and his hands slipped around her waist. He heard her gasp as she looked at him over her shoulder.

His lips captured hers in a slow kiss, so soft and gentle on hers. She deepened the kiss with her tongue and Chuck spun her around to face him. Her body melted against his as he pulled her closely against him. Her hands found their way up to his hair and began to tug and play with his dark locks, intertwining it between her fingers. His hands slid down from her waist and he ran them softly across her butt, feeling her dress come up around her thighs the slightest bit. Then, he pulled her toward his bedroom, walking backwards, leading the way through the dim room. When they were in the room, he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her hard. She kissed back with just as much need and unbuttoned his shirt hastily, running her hands over his stomach and broad shoulders and chest. It had been so long since either of them had been with someone, especially Blair. And she had only ever been with one boy in her entire life.

She pushed him off of her and forced him back onto his bed, climbing on top of him, straddling him in between her thighs. She pulled her dress up over her head and he stared at her with awe, taking in the curve of her hips, her flat stomach, and full breasts in her lacey black bra. He pulled her back down to kiss him and then something broke the sexual tension in the room. She was laughing. She was laughing against his lips. He pulled away from her. "Is something wrong?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you pranking me or something?"

This made her laugh harder. When he looked a little hurt or self-conscious, she shook her head furiously. "No," she managed to breathe out through her laughter. "This is just crazy. So unlike me." She was laughing so hard that tears were slipping out of her eyes. She climbed off of him, still laughing hysterically and laid next to him. This made Chuck start laughing too. Her laugh was so inviting, it made him want to laugh with her, be the reason she was laughing. They laughed until their insides hurt and their faces were aching and stiff from smiling. She turned and laid her head on his chest, looking up into his eyes, when they had finally calmed down. "So, tell me about the other girls."

"Well," Chuck said, situating his head so that he could look at her. "Honestly, there have been many, and I don't really recall any names or faces...or anything special about them at all even."

"Mhm," Blair nodded, as if she was a psychologist.

"They never danced around my house to Taylor Swift," Chuck said. "Or started laughing hysterically while they were making out with me. And it's never been this easy to just lay there and talk with a girl while we're both half-naked in my bed. I can honestly say this is new." He reached up subconsciously and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"And how does it make you feel?" Blair questioned.

"I like it," Chuck said. It was quiet for a moment, while they just looked at each other. Then, the door opened, signalling that Nate had made it home. He heard him toss his keys on the table next to the door and then go into his room, closing the door, quietly behind him. Chuck cleared his throat, realizing Blair was still watching him. "So, tell me about the other guys."

Blair raised her eyebrows at him. "Well," she started, just as Chuck had. "There was only one other guy."

"And he broke your heart?" Chuck presumed.

Blair nodded. "Almost a whole year ago."

"I'm sorry," Chuck said sincerely.

"Don't be," Blair replied. "We all have to get hurt at some point in our lives." She sat up. "So, what's your greatest fear?"

Chuck thought momentarily. "Women."

Blair laughed obnoxiously. "Oh my god, seriously?"

"Yeah, very serious," Chuck nodded, pretending to be solemn. "Also, my dad created peanut butter and was the first man to walk the moon."

Blair laughed again and smacked Chuck on the chest. "You're an idiot." He laughed too and sat up, leaning back against the headboard.

"I think I'm pretty clever," he smirked.

And they talked like that for the rest of the night, about random nothings and things in life. It was an amazing night. They talked and drank on bottles of wine until the sun came up, neither of them having realized how late it had gotten. Then they finally fell asleep, in a drunken stupor. Chuck was at the foot of the bed and Blair next to him, his arm wrapped loosely across her back, as her face was pressed into the mattress, both of them deep in sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it! I know, there wasn't a lot of Serenate and definitely not any Rufly but I promise it's all coming! Chair will always be my favorite couple so I'm sorry if I favor them in this story too much! Anyway, I think this was a pretty damn good first chapter. Let me know how you feel by reviewing and I'll make sure to upload the next chapter as soon as I get some feedback! Hope you guys liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2

Serena made her way into her favorite cafe, seeing the line already beginning to build up, as it was early on a Sunday morning and many were on their way to church. She wasn't on her way to church or on her way to anything, really. She was simply planning on taking her early morning Sunday walk on the beach, as that was the best time - when it was deserted. She sighed as she stepped into line, playing on her phone until she finally got to the front. She ordered her favorite hazelnut and mocha cappuccino and was digging around for her wallet inside her huge purse, when someone stepped in front of her. "I got it," he said, handing the cashier his credit card.

Serena looked up, surprised. "Thank you," she said.

The guy turned around to look at her and she immediately recognized him as the hot blonde guy from the bar last night. "No problem," Nate grinned at her.

"You," she said, a smile gracing her face as her eyes lit up. "Great to see you again."

"It's Nate, by the way. And you didn't even say hi!" Nate said, pretending to pout.

The cashier cleared her throat and the two, realizing they were still in the way of the line, stepped off to the side. "I'm sorry, I had to go," Serena said as they walked out of the cafe together. "Something came up with my mom." She paused. "Serena," she said awkwardly, realizing she hadn't told him her name either.

"Maybe you just didn't think I was cute enough to talk to me," Nate winked at her, as they walked down the sidewalk, side by side.

"Maybe," Serena smirked back. "But you didn't say hi either! It works two ways. Guess you weren't as brave as your friend. He must be very confident in himself to approach my friend that easily."

Nate chuckled. "Chuck is very confident. He has reasons to be. He's...something else," he said.

Serena shook her head. "I just hope he didn't leave Blair in too terrible of shape."

"I didn't hear anything last night," Nate said. "Then again, I was pretty high and was really into my video games, so I couldn't really tell ya."

Serena giggled. "Fair enough."

"So, where are you headed?" Nate asked, realizing they had been walking without a destination.

"Oh, every Sunday morning I go for a walk on the beach. I like the solitude. And then I go to Blair's to watch Tiffany's and I bring bagels but that idea is probably shot, seeing as she's watched that movie like a thousand times in the last few months."

"No way," Nate said. He looked really excited.

"Yeah, Blair likes Tiffany's," Serena shrugged.

"No," Nate laughed, squeezing his eyes shut. "That's not what I was saying that about. You take walks on the beach on Sunday's too!"

"Are you kidding me?" Serena asked, stopping mid-step. "Don't say that you do too!"

"Yeah, I do!" Nate laughed, throwing his hands up. "You caught me! I like my solitude too. It's the-"

"Best time to think," Serena filled in, with a smile. "Well, I'd better go. Maybe we can take a walk of solitude on the beach together sometime."

Nate pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. "Hey, what's your number? Maybe I can give you a call sometime."

"Sure! I'd like that," Serena said, giving him her number. "I'll see you later, Nate." She walked away from him with a flirty smile. Nate watched her go for a while. A few seconds later, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was an unknown number. "Hello?" she answered it.

"Is it sometime yet?" Nate's voice came over the phone.

Serena smiled widely and turned around to look at him. He was already staring at her. "Catch ya later, cutie," she said, before hanging up the phone, shaking her head and walking away, giggling to herself.

* * *

Rufus awoke the next day with a pounding headache. The sun way coming through the blinds and his eyes roamed around, confused about his whereabouts. It took him a moment to realize that he was back at the loft, where his two adult kids were staying, where Lily had sent him yesterday. He sat up suddenly, which was not a very good idea, as his head pounded violently and his stomach churned. His head swam as he tried to piece together everything that had happened yesterday and last night. The whole day and evening was a complete blur. All he could remember was Lily...Bart...the divorce...coming here...going to the bar...meeting a strange but nice young lad...and that was all. He must have gotten drunk past the point of remembrance after that.

He slowly stood up and dragged his feet off to the shower. He turned the water on as hot as it would go, so the tiny bathroom was filled with steam and the water was so hot that it seared his skin and turned it bright red. He loved showers that were so hot they made him basically look like a lobster. They were soothing to the soul and really allowed him to think about things. He had a lot of thinking to do. Should he really try what this Nate kid had been trying to get him to? Maybe being with another woman was a good start to getting over Lily. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he would ever get over Lily. She was his one great love and he would go to the ends of the earth for her - and he had, but it still wasn't good enough for her. He was never good enough for her. Apparently, the only person who was was Bart Bass.

So, maybe he should try meeting new women. Maybe someone would actually make him feel better, treat him right, appreciate him and all he did. And then it was decided. He would see if this Nate kid could actually help him or work wonders, as he swore he did.

He finished showering and got out, the smell of pancakes filling his nostrils. The smell made him want to gag, reminding him of Lily cooking breakfast for him. But he swallowed hard, getting dressed, and walking out into the kitchen. "Hello, darling," he greeted his blonde daughter, Jenny, who had way too much black eyeliner on for a father's liking. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "What are you doing here? I saw your stuff when I got home last night but you weren't here."

"Yeah, I came in late," Rufus said, taking a seat at the bar.

"Problems with Lil?" Jenny guessed.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I think we're getting a divorce."

"Oh my god, dad, I'm so sorry," Jenny said, concern evident in her voice and on her face.

Rufus did his best to smile at her, but he said nothing. The front door opened and his son, Dan, stepped in. "Sorry about what?" Dan asked, looking surprised to see his father sitting there. "What's going on, dad?"

"He thinks Lily wants a divorce," Jenny said.

"I know that she does," Rufus corrected. "She told me herself."

"Oh, no," Dan said sadly. "Did she say why?"

Rufus shrugged, deciding it was better not to tell the kids that she had slept with someone else, for the sake of the fact that maybe their marriage could somehow work itself out. It probably wouldn't but that didn't mean he should make his kids hate his wife. "She just said we both need some time apart to really think about our marriage." He picked up the newspaper and his eyes scanned it. "Why are you coming home in the morning?" he asked, looking at Dan suspiciously.

Dan opened his mouth to talk, but Jenny talked over him. "He was with a girl."

"Who?" Rufus asked.

Dan rolled his eyes and shot Jenny a dirty look. "Well, it wasn't Serena if that's what you're thinking. You know she and I ended a long time ago. Remember? When you and her mother decided to get married? I really wasn't into the idea of dating my step-sister."

Rufus shrugged. "Well, I just thought that maybe since my marriage with Lil was over that you two might try to get back together or something."

"Definitely not!" Dan replied. "She's way too complicated for me. I'm looking for someone more simple, someone who gets me, someone easy, someone like-"

"Vanessa," Jenny chimed in.

Dan shot her another look of annoyance.

"Wow," Rufus nodded. "My son's love life is better than my own."

Dan frowned. "I'm sorry, dad, I never should have said anything-"

"Don't apologize for being happy," Rufus shook his head. "Don't ever apologize for that." Dan nodded awkwardly before heading back into his bedroom and closing the door behind him. Rufus turned to Jenny, putting the newspaper down. "So...how are things with...that one guy?"

"Louis?" Jenny asked, a smile lighting up her face. "Things are really good! Though I know Serena isn't too happy with me and Blair especially isn't...Have you heard from Serena?"

Rufus shook his head. "I assume she'll probably take Lil's side on the matter."

Jenny frowned. "Dad, I know how close you and Serena got."

"Yeah, she's like my own daughter," Rufus agreed. "She told me a lot of stuff, personal things. She doesn't have a real dad, you know. He didn't want anything to do with her. So I became her dad, in ways. She even called me 'dad'." Rufus swallowed hard, trying not to let it bother him. "I just hope that I don't lose her, too."

"You won't," Jenny consoled her dad. "It's going to be okay."

Rufus nodded. "Well," he said. "I'd better get going."

Jenny raised her eyebrows at him. "Where are you going?"

"Just out with a friend."

"Dad… you don't have friends," Jenny laughed.

Rufus laughed with her. "Ha, good one. See you later, sweetie." He kissed her on the forehead and left the loft, pulling out his phone. He called Nate, who told him to meet him at the shopping mall.

They spent the entire day trying on suits and buying shoes and eating cheap pretzels and drinking icees. Rufus had to admit, it was quite fun hanging out with a younger guy. Nate reminded him a lot of his younger self, so free to explore the world. It was nice to have a reminder of being young. It almost made him feel young again. At the end of the day, Rufus had almost maxed out his credit cards buying new stuff.

"Now, what do you say we go to the bar again tonight?" Nate asked him.

"It's a Sunday night," Rufus said skeptically.

"Exactly," Nate said. "All the desperate women will be there looking for one last hook-up before the stressful week begins." He grabbed his shoulder. "You have a lot to learn, my friend."

* * *

Chuck woke up before Blair did. He realized she was still only in her bra and panties and shook his head at himself. He was quite surprised with himself that he was able to not throw himself at her all night while they just sat and talked. She was quite beautiful. Well, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And they really had a connection last night. This was all really knew to Chuck. He wasn't used to actually wanting a girl to stick around the next morning. That just wasn't him. He smirked and got up to call room service. When he returned to the bedroom, he found he dressing herself in the black dress she had worn last night.

"Hey," he greeted with his deep voice.

Blair looked up to see him, surprised. "Oh," she said. "I thought maybe you were gone."

"I live here," Chuck said, a smirk still evident on his face.

"I guess that's true," Blair said, zipping up her dress and looking around for her shoes. Chuck pointed to the foot of the bed and she nodded and picked them up, forcing them onto her feet. "Thanks," she said. "And thanks for last night. I had a really good time." She didn't even smile as she pushed past him and walked toward the front door.

"You're leaving?" Chuck asked.

Blair turned to look at him, her hand hovering above the doorknob. "Yes?" She said, her brows furrowing together, clearly confused.

"But I just ordered breakfast," Chuck said. "For two."

"Tell them it will be for one," Blair said, placing her hand on the door. She wasn't even looking him in the eye.

"Blair," Chuck said, stepping toward her. "What's wrong? I thought we had some good talks last night. I thought we really connected."

Blair ignored his gaze again and played with the hem of her dress, smoothing out the crevices. "Well...I thought...maybe you would want me to go...since you, ya know...didn't get what you wanted," she said softly.

Chuck closed the space between them in a few long strides. His fingers were under her chin, forcing her head up, forcing her to look him in the eye. He searched her eyes, willing her to tell him all of the secrets hidden there. "I want you to stay," he said. "At least for breakfast. We can talk more, get to know each other better. I really want to know everything about you."

"Okay," Blair decided. She pushed past Chuck and walked back into the living room, sitting down on the couch. "So what do you want to know?"

"Hmm," Chuck thought, sitting down across from her, lying back, only his robe covering him. "Tell me about your first love."

"My first love?" Blair asked. "Or the boys I thought I was in love with?"

"Both," Chuck said.

Blair swallowed. "Okay. I was fourteen when I thought I fell in love for the first time and the way he talked into my ear tickled my insides and the way he moved made my knees wobble and shake and the way he touched my waist made my heart melt into a puddle and droop down into my lungs, willing the air I breathed right out of me."

Chuck watched her, fixated on her lips, the way she spoke, the way her words flowed out like poetry.

She smiled. "I was silly then, naive. Too young to know what love was. It was a short fling, lasted barely a few months, and he went away for college. He was much older than me. I haven't spoken to him since and I don't even really see what I saw in him at the time. But things change and people change."

"And the second time?"

"I was sixteen and it was a boy who made my heart smile so hard that it twisted my stomach and made my brain think so hard that it threatened to crush my skull with all of the things that it knew." She breathed out. "And that left as soon as it came. He moved away to Paris and wouldn't return my calls or texts, so I had to assume that was over."

"Is all you've ever known pain?" Chuck asked.

Blair looked at him, holding her finger up. "The last time I fell in love I was eighteen. It was a boy who made my heart threaten to push right through my chest, breaking my skin, spilling out onto the floor in front of me, taking the life right out of my body, leaving a heartless woman with twisted insides and a brain bigger than the heart that now lay on the floor. He made my bones feel so fragile and frail, threatening to snap and no longer this thing I call a body, leaving me in a puddle of simple matter on the wooden floor, where I would soak into its crevices and transfer my energy elsewhere, where I would not have to fall in love again."

"Was it that bad?" Chuck asked, breathless by her words.

Blair nodded. "We were together for several years. He left me for a girl a few years younger than me, a pretty blonde girl who wears a lot of eyeliner and it super into fashion. I guess she held some fascination that I didn't."

"I'll never see it," Chuck said.

Blair smiled at him. "That's sweet."

"This was recent, wasn't it?"

"Four months ago," Blair nodded, her lips tightening and her heart aching at the thought. "I haven't spoken to him since." Chuck nodded, his eyes focusing on hers, willing himself to never look away from her. "What about you?" Blair asked. "Ever been in love?"

"Once," Chuck admitted. "I met her in Paris when I spent the summer there with my father for an elongated business trip. She was an incredible girl, you know the kind of girl that really makes you think about who you are and who you want to be and everything you've done wrong and everything you want to do right. Her name was Eva. She was tan and beautiful and had a heart that was too big, too forgiving. She was a sweet girl. You know, the kind that would stop and give change to the homeless or pay for the person behind her's coffee or something. She was just so selfless and I never understood it. I always wished I could be like that but something inside me wouldn't allow it."

Blair's lips curled up in a small smile. "So what happened there?"

"I found out she was a prostitute," Chuck said. He expected Blair to laugh. She didn't. "It was silly for me to be upset, I know. I just didn't like the idea of other guys being with her the same way I was. I asked her to stop for me, she said she couldn't, said she needed the money. When I offered her a great sum of money and asked her to return to New York with me, she refused, said it was too much, that she could never take that from me. So then it was over. It was only a few short months but it felt like an eternity, with her. I didn't know if I would ever be okay after that, if I would ever stop missing her. She was like that one huge raindrop that really catches your attention at the way it splatters onto the windshield, the way it rolls down, leaving a huge path of water in its wake. In this case, it was a huge path of self-destruction that she left.

I started using drugs, drinking all the time, sleeping around. As time passed, I grew out of the drugs and partying habit, but I still drink and sleep around. Sometimes, I wish I didn't. But sometimes I feel like it's the only thing that can keep me distracted long enough not to remember."

"Do you still love her?" Blair asked.

It was only then that they both realized that Blair had scooted much closer to him, and their arms were now touching.

Chuck shook his head slowly. "No, I don't think I do. I think I just love the idea of her, or the idea of anyone, really, just being there for me, caring for me." He swallowed hard and leaned in to kiss Blair. Her lips met his, ready. It was a passionate, gentle, caring kiss, filled with words they only wished they could speak to each other. They understood each other, in a way that no one else could.

There was a light rap on the door and the two sprang apart. "Room service," Chuck said, standing up, rubbing the back of his neck. Heat crept up to Blair's cheeks. The door opened and a man with a white uniform rolled a cart in, that gave off delicious smells of crepes and other breakfast treats. Chuck took the cart from the man and dismissed him, rolling it over to Blair, whose stomach cued, as if on command. She giggled and so did Chuck. "Dig in," he requested, and she obliged.

* * *

Around ten, Serena decided to call Blair, to see if she was home yet, so she could stop by and they could have their traditional Sunday. Blair said she hadn't returned home yet but she would be leaving soon, so Serena stopped to grab some bagels to kill time and headed that way. When she arrived, Blair was there, sitting in the living room in the same clothes she had worn last night. "Ooh, scandalous," Serena said.

"Yeah," Blair scoffed. "That's about how I felt walking home. I got so many stares. Everyone probably thought I was a prostitute."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Come on, B. Everyone has to do the walk of shame at some point in their lives. At least you got it over with now. It makes the other ones much easier." Serena paused and laughed at herself. "That made me sound like a total slut."

"Walk of shame?" Blair asked, curiously.

"Yeah," Serena said, as she pulled Blair's favorite bagel and cream cheese out of the sack she was holding and handed it to her. Blair took it, though she had just eaten. She had to be polite, so she decided to eat this bagel, for Serena. "Like, when you sleep with a guy and have to sneak out the next morning." She grinned at Blair. "I want to hear all about it!"

"We didn't sleep together," Blair said.

Serena stared at her. "I don't believe you."

"Honest!" Blair said, throwing her hands up.

"Then why are you coming home in the middle of the morning still wearing the same clothes you were wearing last night?" Serena asked, eyeing her best friend suspiciously.

"We stayed up talking all night," Blair said. Serena gave her another look. "I'm serious! We really clicked and had a good time. We didn't sleep together. But we had a lot of fun."

"Oh," Serena said, as if she finally believed her. "Well, I guess that makes sense. Nate said he didn't hear anything. Anyway, I'm happy for you!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Blair said. "You talked to Nate today?"

"Yeah!" Serena said excitedly. "We ran into each other at the coffee shop! You won't believe it! He takes Sunday morning walks on the beach too."

Blair laughed hard. "You seriously believe that?"

Serena looked confused. "Yes?"

"Honey," Blair said. "You don't think it was just a line to make it look like you guys had much more in common than you do?"

Serena shrugged. "No, I guess I didn't think about it like that." She paused. "Anyway, he seemed pretty awestruck, so I believe him. He's so cute and he asked for my phone number." She winked as she spread cream cheese onto her bagel.

"That's awesome, S," Blair smiled at her best friend. "You wanna stay over tonight?"

"Well, that depends," Serena said. "Will we be watching Tiffany's for the millionth time because that movie is getting old."

Blair feigned being hurt. "No, I think I'm done with Tiffany's for a while. How about a comedy? Or a few? We can just pig out on snacks and watch stupid movies and talk about boys just like the old days." Her face lit up. "Oh, please, it would be so much fun!"

"Okay, I'm in," Serena agreed.

"Hey, by the way, is your mom okay?" Blair asked. "I heard about the divorce."

"Yeah," Serena sighed, running her hand through her long blonde wavy hair. "I don't think she's taking it very hard. I mean, she is the one that suggested it in the first place. I guess she made a mistake...slept with Bart Bass."

"Chuck's father?" Blair asked, scrunching up her face.

"What?" Serena asked, seeing the look on her face.

"He's not a good person," Blair said. "I just hope she doesn't get caught up with him."

"She doesn't want to be with him," Serena replied. "She loves Rufus, she just can't handle being with him after what she did to him. She wanted to give him some time to decide if it was worth it. She's doing this for him, believe it or not."

"Poor Rufus," Blair said. "I bet he's taking it pretty rough."

Serena nodded. "I would think so. He really loved mom. I think I'll give him a call, actually, see how he's doing." She pulled out her phone and called him. "Hey, dad," she greeted him, which brought a smile to his face.

"Hey, honey, good to hear from you," Rufus said.

"How are you doing?" Serena asked, sucking in her breath. "I heard about what happened with mom. I'm really sorry."

"I'm doing okay," Rufus said. "Trying my best." He paused before adding. "How is your mom, by the way?"

"She's good," Serena said. She knew that probably wasn't what he wanted to hear. She bit her lip. "I just want you to know that if...if you need anything, I'm still here. Even if you and mom aren't together, you were a dad to me when my biological father never was, and it means so much to me that you just accepted me as your own."

"Of course, sweetie," Rufus said. "Thank you."

"We should do lunch tomorrow," Serena suggested.

"I would love to," Rufus replied, satisfied with the fact that at least he hadn't lost Serena, too.

"Okay," Serena said. "I'll see you then. Love you." She hung up the phone and looked at Blair. "He sounded like a mess. But better than I expected. Maybe this break will do him good, too."

Blair nodded understandingly. "I just hope everything works out for both of them. I love your mom and Rufus is a really good guy. Even though I can't say that much for how his children turned out."

Serena sighed. "Oh, Blair, don't start with Jenny again. Haven't you bashed her enough?"

Blair gave her a look. "It's only enough when I say it's enough, Serena. Have you ever had a boy leave you for someone else?" Serena said nothing. "I didn't think so. It's hard, okay? I loved Louis."

Serena shrieked and grinned a wide grin.

"WHAT!?" Blair asked, shocked, as she jumped a million miles out of her skin. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"You said loved," Serena said. "Past tense."

"I did?" Blair asked, surprised at herself. "Yeah, I guess I did." She smiled to herself, feeling pretty good about herself for the first time in a while.

"Wow," Serena said. "I'm impressed. That Chuck guy must have really gotten to you."

"I like him," Blair admitted.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, there's chapter two for ya. I know this chapter wasn't anything special. I just wanted to build up on the friendships between Serena and Blair and the new-found one between Nate and Rufus! I also really wanted to get into Nate and Serena interacting a little more. I promise there will be more interaction between them in future chapters and all my Rufly fans need to hang in there, it's coming! My favorite part about writing this chapter was the descriptions between Chuck and Blair about ex-lovers. It was really fun. Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chuck and Blair had been going out for a while now. She stayed the night at his house constantly and Chuck missed her so much when she was gone. Those were only rare occasions, when she would go to lunch with her mother or go out with Serena but it still sucked. He sat on the couch, thinking about her, when he heard the front door open, and the clicking of her heels gave it away. "Blair," he grinned, as she turned around the corner.

She looked beautiful, as always. Clad in a short floral dress that was tight around the waist and puffed out a bit at the bottom, one of her famous headbands, and some brightly colored coral pumps that matched her dress, and her curls hung loosely around her face. She hardly wore any makeup but she didn't need to - she was gorgeous naturally. "Hello," she said, leaning down to kiss Chuck on the cheek. "Did you miss me?"

"Always," Chuck said, in turn kissing her hard on the lips.

"What are your plans for today?" Blair asked.

"You," Chuck said, sliding his hand down her waist.

Blair rolled her eyes and pushed his arms away. "Okay, besides that."

Chuck looked at her seriously this time. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner, take a walk in the park by the water, enjoy some time together."

"As if we don't enjoy time together now!" Blair laughed.

"I know," Chuck said, heat rising in his cheeks. "I just wanted to make you feel good, make you feel special, make you feel appreciated."

"You already do, silly," Blair smiled at him. It was cute the way he was blushing.

* * *

Nate and Serena had been on a few dates - coffee shop, walking together around town, window shopping, talking about life - but they were both really enjoying each other's company. That was why Nate was unsure of what to do when he saw Serena and Rufus together at lunch. He knew it couldn't be anything other than casual - but what was their relationship to each other? Serena was much too young for Rufus. So he whipped out his phone, deciding which of them he wanted to call. He feared if he were to call Rufus, Rufus would answer by calling him by name. He didn't want them to know he knew both of them yet. He decided on texting Serena. "Hey, what are you up to?" His fingers typed quickly across the keypad.

Her response was very quick, as if she had been waiting. "At lunch with my dad, you?"

Realization took over Nate like being hit by a sack of bricks. His mind went blank for a moment. Wait, Serena's dad was… _Rufus? _Rufus, his new friend, who he had been helping and who had, in turn, helped him become a much better person? He was the father of the girl that Nate was becoming really into? Now he really didn't want them to know that he knew both of them. That would be rough to explain and he couldn't risk the chance of Rufus getting mad at him and losing his friendship or Serena getting mad at him and risking a potential relationship in the future. He sighed, deciding against telling them, deciding it could wait. After all, he and Serena weren't super serious yet, it could wait until then, right.

"Just wanna see you," he texted back to her.

This time, her response took a little longer. He saw a smile break out across her beautiful face. "Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Nate said. And then he sent a text to Rufus, asking if he wanted to go out to the bar again tonight. Rufus replied with a little over excitement, which made Nate chuckled to himself as he put his phone back in his pocket and walked away from the scene before ever of them saw him and called out his name.

* * *

Rufus was getting ready to go to the bar that night when he got a phone call from Lily. For a moment, he just stood there, staring at the phone in shock. Then reality kicked in and he swiped it to answer the call. "Hey, Lil," he greeted smoothly, trying to sound put together, though on the inside, his mind was reeling.

"Hey," Lily greeted. It was so good to hear her voice. It had been over a month since the fight, over a month since he'd spoken to her. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," Rufus said. "Really well. Yourself?"

There was a slight pause. "I'm okay." She let out a breath. "I miss you."

A smile reached Rufus' lips. "I miss you too."

"What are you doing tonight?" Lily asked.

"Oh, I'm going to the bar with a friend," Rufus replied casually.

There was another hesitation. "Oh, to the bar? Do you...do you do that a lot?" Lily asked. Rufus knew what she was getting at. Fortunately, he hadn't hooked up with any women yet but he had gotten pretty damn close. But he didn't want her to know that he had still been basically chasing thoughts of her around in her head.

"Yeah," he said. "You know, we're both single bachelor's."

He didn't know why he'd said it. He hadn't wanted to hurt Lily but in some ways, he had. He wanted nothing more than to see her happy, the way he used to make her. But a part of him also wanted to see her hurt as much as he had this past month.

There was a weird noise on the other end of the line and Rufus squeezed his eyes shut, knowing he had said something stupid.

"Lovely," Lily finally replied. "I have a date tonight, too. With Bart."

Rufus felt as if he had just been punched in the gut. Hard. He felt the blood boil in his veins, his palms got sweaty, his mind stop thinking for just one second. And he could have sworn, his heart had stopped momentarily. He said nothing, just pictured Lily and Bart in the office together, their naked, hot bodies, writhing around together. He swallowed hard, trying to get the image out of his mind. Truthfully, that image had been implanted there since she first told him about what happened. Then, the image was replaced with Bart and Lily at dinner, a fancy restaurant, somewhere Rufus could have never afforded, Bart walking her home, Lily laughing at his jokes, them having a deep conversation and connecting on so many different levels than Rufus and Lily ever had.

"Rufus?" Lily's voice asked softly. She was begging him to say something.

It was then that he realized he hadn't spoken yet. "Great," Rufus said. "Great for you." And then he hung up the phone, tossing it across the room. It slammed into the wall, hard. He heard a shatter and knew it was the screen but he didn't care. He was so damn angry. It had been one thing for her to say she was going out with someone, but _Bart Bass _of all people? The man she had slept with while her wedding ring was still on her damn finger?

Lily stared at her phone, stared blankly at the ended call on her screen. Why had she just lied to Rufus? Why had she told him she had a date with Bart? In reality, she was just staying home and having Serena and Eric over for dinner. So why had she gone and lied to him? Why was she rubbing this in his face, trying to hurt him all over again? She shook her head at her own stupidity and placed the phone down on the counter. This was exactly why she wanted a divorce in the first place. She had become the type of woman that was out to hurt Rufus Humphrey, the sweetest guy in the world, the love of her life. And that was not the person she wanted to be.

And it was sure as hell not the person Rufus needed her to be.

* * *

After dinner, Chuck and Blair took a walk by the water, just like he had promised. It was a little chilly outside but not too cold. Chuck fidgeted with the lapels on his suit. Blair stared at him, concerned. "Chuck, what's going on? You've been acting weird all night. You hardly touched your food. And you love that place."

Chuck cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I've had some things on my mind."

A feeling of dread washed over Blair and she couldn't pinpoint it. But then he smiled at her and it took every doubt or concern in her mind away. Then, she felt a little guilty for what had happened earlier today, that she had neglected to tell him. She swallowed hard, trying to find the strength. "So, Louis is in town," Blair said.

Chuck's eyes caught on hers.

"Well, he asked me on a date and-"

He tried to search her face but found no luck in figuring out what she wanted."Blair, you don't have to ask my permission if that's what you're doing. We're just goofing around. We both know this isn't anything serious."

"Well," Blair swallowed hard, praying that she could hold back the tears as they pricked at her eyes. "I was actually going to tell you that I turned him down." Her voice shook. "But if we're just goofing off, then maybe I will go." She turned on her heel and stalked off towards her house.

"Blair!" He called, staring after her, confused by how quickly things had escalated between the two of them. He cared a great deal for Blair but he had just been trying to give her what she wanted. He remembered back at his place when they talked about their past loves, and he remembered the way she had spoken about Louis, as if she would crawl back into his arms at the snap of his fingers. So, if she wanted Louis, that was what Chuck was trying to give her. He just wanted her to be happy, even if the source of her happiness wasn't him.

He sighed and called Nate, who was out at the bar with some guy. Chuck decided to join them. What better way to heal the heart than to drink away your sorrows? He made his way to the bar, where he found Nate and an older man sitting, ogling at some attractive women in the corner of the room. He shook his head, laughing as he made his way over to them. "Hello, gentleman," Chuck's voice came out smoothly.

Nate looked up, a grin breaking out on his face. "Hey, man. I was just trying to set Rufus here up with one of those fine ladies over there. Any tips for him?"

"Many," Chuck said. "Fix your tie, run your hand through your hair, take a deep breath, act cool, calm and collected, and act as if those ladies would be lucky to go home with you tonight. If they turn you down, don't act bothered by it, they're all talk. Women like to play hard to get. If you play by that, you'll have them falling at your feet."

Nate nodded his head, agreeing with Chuck.

Rufus looked at him, raising his eyebrows. "Are you another one of Nate's ladies man friends?"

Chuck stuck his hand out to shake his hand. "Chuck Bass."

A dark look washed over Rufus' face and he stood up, surprising Chuck. "Chuck _Bass?_" he spat out. "_Bass?" _He looked back and forth between Nate and Chuck. "The son of _Bart Bass?_ The man who slept with my wife?" He grabbed Chuck by the lapels of his suit and pulled him toward him, hard. "The man she's currently out on a date with?"

"Whoa," Nate said, standing up, realizing the situation had just gotten dangerous.

"Look," Chuck said, holding his hands up. "I have no idea of anything my father has done. I don't doubt it, as he's a dirty, horrible, pathetic excuse for a man, but I haven't spoken to him in years, so I wouldn't know." He pulled himself out of Rufus' grasp. "I do apologize on his behalf though and I'm very sorry about your wife."

Rufus relaxed almost instantly, dropping his hands. "Sorry," he muttered, bringing his attention back to the women in the corner.

"Go," Nate said, encouraging him. "They'd be lucky to meet you."

"Be persistent," Chuck said. "But not desperate."

Rufus nodded his head and took a big breath, making his way over to the women. He looked back at Nate and Chuck, who gave him an encouraging nod and continued on.

"So what's up?" Nate asked Chuck. "You seem bothered by something. Is it that girl you've been seeing?"

Chuck nodded his head curtly. "Blair."

"Don't tell me you've fallen for her," Nate said, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. "Chuck Bass, a romantic?"

Chuck gave him a dark look. "Don't act so surprised, Archibald. I heard from Blair that you and her friend Serena have been seeing a lot of each other."

Nate nodded. "Yeah, well, I really like her."

"Or do you just like sleeping with her?" Chuck asked.

Nate rolled his eyes. "I like that too." His cheeks began to heat up. "But that's not all I like about her. I thoroughly enjoy her company. Even if half of that company is having her legs wrapped around me."

Chuck busted out a laugh, which made Nate laugh in turn.

"You sound ridiculous," Chuck laughed.

Nate smiled. "So what's this Blair girl done to you that's so horrible that you're here on a Sunday evening, drinking away your sorrows?"

Chuck shrugged. "I think we just broke up."

"And you're cool with that?" Nate asked. "I thought you were totally smitten for her."

"I was," Chuck said. "I mean, I am. But I think she wants to get back with her ex boyfriend and you know I'm not the type to have to be an option. I'm not going to be a choice in her little game. I just want to be her priority."

Nate gave him a confused look. "You want her, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Very much so."

"Then go fight for what you want!" Nate exclaimed, just in time to see Rufus turn around, giving him a thumbs up. Nate smiled back at him. "Go make yourself her first choice." He said to Chuck, as Rufus left the bar with a tall brunette woman with really nice legs.

Chuck looked at him, sipping on his scotch. "You're right." He smoothed out his suit as he stood up. "I've gotta go find her."

* * *

Serena decided to talk to her mom about Rufus at dinner. When Eric got up to go clean the dishes, Serena jumped. "So, mom, have you heard from Rufus?" She asked, knowing Lily would tell Serena everything. She always had.

"We spoke briefly today," Lily replied, taking a sip of her water.

"Oh, yeah? About what?" Serena asked, trying to sound casual.

Lily looked up at her daughter. "I know what you're doing, Serena."

"What?" Serena asked innocently. "I'm just really concerned about my mother who is going through a divorce and doesn't really show any emotion about it."

"The best way to get over it is to not talk about it," Lily said.

"But you can't just ignore it," Serena interjected. "Look, mom, I had lunch with Rufus earlier today and he seems to be doing really well. I thought you were doing well until I saw him. He's so happy and bubbly. You're not. You're like dead and sad all the time. There's not light in your eyes anymore, there's no love."

Lily swallowed. "Serena, dear, as deep as that was, it's completely untrue."

"Mom, you haven't done anything the last month except lounge around the house! You've been losing so much weight."

"Most people do bounce back after a breakup, Serena."

Serena rolled her eyes and groaned frustratedly. "Mom, just be honest with me, just this once. Are you still in love with Rufus?"

"Yes," Lily answered. Her throat went dry. Her hands began to shake.

"Do you still want to be with him?"

"I don't know," Lily said.

"Because if you do, you need to tell him now before he lets go of you for good," Serena said. "You know I love you and I'm here for you in whatever you choose to do but you can't deny the fact that Rufus is a really good guy and deserves happiness."

Lily nodded. "That's exactly why I let him go in the first place."

"Oh," Serena said, finally understanding.

Just then, Eric walked back out into the living room and Lily cleared her throat. "Well, thank you guys for coming over. It was nice to have both of you here at the same time. It's been a while since that happened," Lily smiled at her children.

"Thanks for dinner. It was delicious," Eric said, kissing her on the cheek. "And it's no problem. We're always here for you, mom."

"Thank you, darlings," Lily said, tears pricking at her eyes. She pushed them back, trying to find strength. "It's getting late. I think I'll turn in. I'll see you kids soon. Love you both." She gave them both a hug and they left, Serena watching her with concern as she went.

Lily didn't go to bed, she sat down on the couch and put on her reading glasses, curling up to read a nice book.

Serena got a text from Blair after she left her mother's. Her best friend needed her and of course she would run straight to her aid. She hurried to Blair's penthouse, wondering what on earth could be bothering her. When she arrived, she found Blair wrapped up in her duvet, her body shaking with sobs. "Awh," Serena said quietly, stepping toward her best friend's bed. "Blair, what happened?"

Blair looked up at her, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I think Chuck and I broke up," she hiccupped out. "If we were really even dating...Now I'm not so sure."

"Why?" Serena asked, sitting on the bed beside her, tucking a free strand of dark hair behind Blair's ear.

"Well," Blair started. "We went out to dinner and he was acting really weird but I decided to ignore it. Then I mentioned that Louis was in town and before I could tell him that I told Louis no, he said that he thought we were just goofing off." She swallowed hard as her eyes welled up with tears again.

"I'm so sorry, B," Serena said, pulling Blair toward her, where she snuggled into her side, enjoying the comfort of her best friend. "Life sucks."

"But at least we have each other," Blair pointed out.

"We'll always have each other," Serena smiled, hugging her best friend close in response.

* * *

Chuck headed out of the bar toward his limo, fully intending on going to Blair's penthouse and apologizing to her. On his way, he would stop and pick up her favorite flowers - peonies, and make this an apology she deserved. He had been such an ass to her. Of course they weren't just goofing off. He was falling in love with her, which was very hard to admit to himself, seeing as Chuck Bass had only fallen in love with one other girl before.

As if it were some stupid cue in some cliche love movie, that one girl appeared before him, standing in front of his limo, the lights from the busy city glowing on her pale skin, her hair long and blonde and down to her waist, beauty radiating from her. "Eva," Chuck choked out. "What are you doing here?" His heart thudded in his chest.

A smile graced her face as she made her way toward him, meeting him halfway, her heels clicking on the pavement. "I'm in town on some business with my uncle's company. They're expanding his bar and creating a franchise out of it, planting one in New York City," her french accent coated her voice. "We're checking out some buildings for sale and making some decisions. I would be the one running the bar if we chose to buy it here."

"You-you would move to New York?" Chuck asked, something that he was unsure of washing over him.

"Yes," Eva smiled back at him. "New York." She stepped toward him again as he stood frozen before her. "You look great. Two years has really done you well. Not that you weren't handsome before. It's something about how distance makes the heart grow fonder - and I suppose that works with looks, too."

Chuck laughed, brushing her compliment off. "You look good, too. How have you been? It's been quite a while since we've spoken."

"It has," Eva said. "Truly too long." She touched his shoulder. The fibers in his body went haywire, lighting up his every nerve.

Shit.

* * *

Rufus was trying to sneak gracefully out of the room of the woman he had just slept with. But if there was any defining quality about Rufus Humphrey, it was that he was the least graceful person in the entire city of New York. He tripped over her shoe, ended up kicking something else and grunted loudly at the pain. The light on the nightstand by the bed flipped on as the blonde woman sat up, looking dazed and confused. "Rufus?" she called out to him.

He remained quiet for a moment. Maybe if he didn't make any noise, he would become invisible. But that wasn't the adult way to solve problems like these. He sighed. "Yes?" he replied, rubbing his foot.

"Are you leaving? Without saying goodbye?"

"Of course not," he lied through his teeth. "I was just going to the bathroom. But now that you speak of it, I do need to be heading home." He pulled his shirt over his head and zipped up his pants. "But I'll call you."

"You don't even have my number," the girl replied, annoyed.

"I'll look you up on Facebook," he said, pulling on his shoes.

"Do you even know my name?"

Rufus almost laughed aloud. He bit his tongue. Audrey? Aubrey? Abbey? Amanda? Something with an A…"No. Honestly, I don't. I'm sorry."

The girl scoffed. "Just go."

Rufus rolled his eyes and stood up. "You don't have to act so dramatic. This is what single adults do, right?"

"GET!" The girl screamed, throwing the blanket off of her legs, climbing out of the bed after him. He ran, afraid she might attack him, and slammed the front door behind him. When he was outside, he let out a loud breath. Women were crazy. He was slowly remembering why he was so unhappy with Lil sometimes. She could get pretty crazy too. She was always arguing, always turning things around on him, always making him be the bad guy.

But maybe that didn't even matter. He had put up with it for so long, had been willing to keep putting up with it if she had let him. He was even going to stay with her and ignore the fact that she slept with Bart, until she suggested the divorce. Now it was even worse - she was out with the man she had betrayed him with. His insides twisted at the thought, his blood boiled in his veins.

He shook his head as he walked down the still busy streets of Brooklyn. He ran his hand through his hair, unsure of what to do. That was when he looked across the street and saw a late-night bar open. He made his way through the traffic that still strayed on the roads and entered the bar. He immediately began ordering drink after drink, scarfing alcohol down, savoring the way it burned in his throat because if it was still burning, he was still feeling something.

But he didn't want to feel anything, not anymore, not ever. He wanted to drown himself in alcohol, to forget that Lily existed, that anything existed. He was so miserable, so hurt, so broken. He was the empty shell of a broken man that used to have high dreams for himself, that used to be happy. But was he really ever happy? Or was ignorance just bliss?

He looked up and saw a familiar face, one he had seen in the paper many times, one who had slept with his fucking wife. Bart Bass. He stood before him, a girl wrapped up all around him. He had two thoughts; the first: Lily must had lied about the date with him, the second: he was going to punch Bart Bass in the fucking face.

* * *

**A/N: **So there's chapter three for you guys! Thanks so much for being patient and I'm so sorry for the delay. I didn't really know where I wanted this chapter to go and I've been super busy with work and planning vacation and stuff. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it jumps around a lot, I just wanted to make sure I got everything in there that I wanted to be in there! Thanks so much! Chapter Four will be out soon :)


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Rufus punched Bart in the face, he looked up just in time to see a fist fly at his own face. Then he blacked out.

When he awoke, he was on a couch that felt very familiar and his face ached.

He groaned as he sat up, and his hand immediately flew to his throbbing face.

"No, don't touch it," a familiar voice sounded. It took him a moment to register who it was. "It'll only hurt worse if you do."

"Lil?" Rufus asked, as Lily's gorgeous face swam into view. "What-what happened? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is-"

"Punching Bart," Lily filled in. "Yes, I know." She pursed her lips in that way she always did when she was struggling with trying to remain angry at Rufus. "What were you thinking? You're lucky someone at the bar called me and told me to come pick you up. You could have really been hurt!" She knelt down beside him, concern etched upon every crevice of her face.

"You lied to me about going out with him tonight," Rufus said. Lily tore her eyes away from him. "And I need to know why."

"I don't have an answer," Lily said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, you can start by telling me why you're out to hurt me," Rufus said angrily. "You can start by telling me what I did to make you hate me so much. I've been nothing but a damn good and faithful husband to you and all you ever want to do is hurt me. I need to know why."

"I don't know," Lily whispered, still staring away from Rufus.

"Well, figure it out!" Rufus exclaimed, throwing his legs over the side of the couch.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, standing up with him. "It's three am."

"Why does it matter to you?" Rufus demanded.

"Because I-" She cut herself off, before she could say anything she would regret. "Please, just stay here tonight. You're intoxicated and you just got punched in the face. I don't want to worry about you all night."

Rufus turned around to look at her, and suddenly, he was dangerously close to her, his lips only inches from hers. "I need to know," he said. "Is it possible you still love me?"

"No," Lily lied automatically.

Something in him broke. And at the same time, something inside of her broke too. "So you just can't stand to let me be happy?" Rufus said, his nostrils beginning to flare.

"That's not true," Lily said, her lower lip quivering.

"I think it is," Rufus said, his head nodding. "Well, let me tell you something. I love the single life. I love going to the bar, getting drunk, staying out late, hanging out with the guys whenever I want, never having to ask permission, never having to worry about you or what you're doing. I love sleeping with other women, which I have done plenty of since we've been apart." This was a lie. The girl he had just slept with was the first since Lily.

Lily's eyes went wide. "You-you slept with other women?"

"Yeah," Rufus lied, gritting his teeth, his frustration and anger empowering him. "And I think this split was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Lily stared at him in silence.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments.

Rufus turned around to walk toward the elevators. Lily's small voice stopped him. "Did you really sleep with other women?"

"One," Rufus said quietly.

"And is the split really the best thing that ever happened to you?"

"No," he said, and continued to walk out, leaving her standing in the living room all alone, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

Nate was laying in bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling, when the sun came up. He didn't know why he was still awake. He was extremely exhausted when it came to his body, but his mind was buzzing. He was supposed to be going to breakfast with Serena in a few hours. He wanted to tell her how he felt, wanted to tell her that he wanted them to be exclusive, that he wanted her to be his and his alone. But he didn't know how she felt about that. She had admitted to not being in many relationships in the past, admitted that relationships weren't really her thing.

And the same went for him. But it was so different with Serena. She was so charming and beautiful and she always made him think and challenged him. She was incredible. And he knew a good girl when he saw one. He may have made ignorant choices in the past but this was one girl he knew he had to hold on to, or he might regret it for the rest of his life. He decided on going to take a long hot shower, when he heard the front door close. "Just getting home?" he asked Chuck, who was still dressed in his suit from last night, and looked tired as hell. Chuck nodded. "How'd it go with Blair? Did you tell her how you feel?"

"No," Chuck grunted.

"Why not?" Nate asked.

"I ran into Eva," Chuck said.

"Is that where you've been all night?" Nate assumed. "With Eva? What about Blair? I thought-"

"I thought so too," Chuck said. "But that was before Eva came into town. And she might be moving to New York. And I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"What do you mean?" Nate asked, confused.

"Don't think too hard," Chuck tried to joke. It failed. On both ends. "Seeing Eva brought back old feelings. I just need to think about it."

"What!?" Nate exclaimed. "She was horrible to you. She crushed you. You can't just take her back like that." Seeing the look on Chuck's face, he shut up. He knew this had to have been hard for him. "Sorry. I'm sure you already know that." He cleared his throat. "Have you spoken to Blair?"

"Not since last night," Chuck said, shaking his head.

"I think you should," Nate said. "You don't have to apologize to her. You just need to make sure that what you feel for Eva is higher than what you feel for Blair."

"Yeah," Chuck nodded in agreement, heading into his room. He closed the door behind him, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. That was when he spotted a pair of Blair's underwear across the room. A pang of guilt shot through his chest. What would his world be like without Blair here almost every day? He couldn't even stand to think about it. It would drive him mad. Not even Eva could fill a void like that.

Suddenly, he made a decision. He turned and opened the bedroom door back up. Nate gave him a weird look as Chuck walked back out of the apartment. He got into his limo and headed toward Blair's penthouse. When he arrived, her maid, Dorota, was sweeping the floor in the hallway right in front of the elevator. She looked up at him with surprise. "Mr. Chuck," she gasped. "It is very early. Miss Blair asleep with Miss Serena."

Chuck cocked his eyebrows at her, restraining from cracking a joke, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it. "I just need to speak with her for a moment. It's very important. So if you could please go wake her, it would mean a great deal to me."

Dorota nodded and did as he said. She returned with a sleepy Blair, mumbling under her breath as she rubbed her eyes and dragged her feet, slumping down the stairs. When she spotted Chuck, she immediately woke up, her nerves jolting her awake. For a moment, she was almost overwhelmed with the feelings inside her chest. For a moment, so was he.

He swallowed hard as he watched her walk slowly toward him. Damn, he wished she would speed up. He just wanted to hold her, feel the warmth her body gave off, smell the scent of vanilla bean that she always smelled of. Her eyes widened at him as she approached him, expecting him to speak. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard, trying to find the words, as Dorota disappeared off somewhere. "Blair," he said softly. He studied her face, the redness of the corners of her eyes and the puffiness underneath suggested she had fallen asleep crying. A pain tugged at his chest.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, knowing it had come out rather rudely.

"I was going to come last night," Chuck said. "To apologize-"

"But your ego got the best of you?" Blair guessed, annoyed.

Chuck laughed and shook his head. "No, something just came up. I just needed to come here and see you. I missed you. I'm so sorry about what I said, how I jumped to conclusions like that. I know I hurt you and I feel so awful about it. I really do."

"Great," Blair said, her voice full of sarcasm. She wasn't done being angry yet. He didn't get to just apologize and whisk her away. This wasn't television. This was real life. And he was an asshole and she deserved much better. "Is that all?"

Chuck chewed on his bottom lip, unsure of what to say. It was silent for a few seconds. He had said all that he felt he needed to say. There was much more he could say - he could tell her he loved her, he could fight for her - but his pride got the best of him. "Yeah," he said, tightening his lips and nodding his head, turning and walking away from her, leaving her standing in the foyer alone.

When Chuck returned to his apartment, Nate had already gone to meet Serena for breakfast. He sat on the couch, sighing loudly to no one but himself. He had tried to apologize to Blair but she was so damn stubborn and he didn't feel like fighting her. Not today. He was just exhausted. He pulled his blackberry out and found a missed call from Eva from several minutes ago. He groaned loudly and decided to call her back.

"Hello?" her french laced voice came over the phone.

"Hey," Chuck said.

"Chuck," she greeted warmly. He could hear the smile in her voice, mentally picture her face lighting up. "What happened last night? You kind of disappeared on me."

"Yeah," Chuck replied, running his hands through his thick hair. "I'm really sorry about that, I just had a lot to think about."

"And?" Eva prodded. "What did you think about? Did you think about me?"

Chuck didn't want to lead her on but for some reason he did. Maybe it was because he still had feelings for her somewhere deep down, or maybe it was just because he was lonely. "Yeah, I did," he lied.

He heard her squeal on the other end of the line. "I knew you'd come around," Eva said. "I knew you missed me, too."

"Yeah, I did." That was the one thing Chuck had said that was honest and true. He had missed Eva. He didn't miss her as a girlfriend, though. He just missed her presence and how she made him laugh and how comfortable he was around her. Regardless of the fact that she was his ex girlfriend and she had hurt him so badly, she was his best friend.

* * *

Nate walked into the cafe, scanning the room for Serena. He spotted her in the corner, her book in a nose, her blonde hair cascading over her face as she poured into the book, intrigued. He watched the way her fingers gripped the edge of each page so she could turn it as fast as possible to get to the next part. As he approached, he fought with himself about just standing there and watching for a moment, daring not to interrupt her, but then he realized how entirely creepy that would look to everyone else in the diner. So, he decided to interrupt. "Serena," he said, sitting down at the booth across from her.

"Nate," she smiled up at him, bending the corner of the page she was on to mark her place and closing the book.

"No, don't stop on my account," Nate said. "You looked pretty into that book."

"I am," Serena said, her eyes lighting up. "It's a love story."

"Oh?" Nate asked, begging her to continue. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she described the story to him and the way the words rolled off her tongue, as if there was nothing she knew better than this story. "You've read it multiple times then?"

Serena nodded. "Several. It's one of those stories that you can read over and over again and never get tired of. It's incredible. I hope one day I'll have a love story like that. One everyone envies and wants to hear so many times because it's so incredible."

Nate chuckled at her. "You're adorable, but you're such a girl."

"Wow, Nate," Serena feigned surprised. "You're so observant. I'm so proud. You know, I've actually been a girl since you met me."

Nate looked back at her with the same amount of fake surprise. "No, really? And all this time I thought you were a dude."

"But you were into me," Serena pointed out. "So that would make you gay-"

"Okay," Nate said. "Don't you dare. Enough with the funny."

Serena giggled at him as the waitress came up to ask what they wanted to drink. After Serena and Nate ordered their coffees, Nate began to ask her more about the book, hoping that she would get all excited again. He loved how passionate she was. He loved how happy and bubbly she was. She was so beautiful, inside and out.

He sighed. He wanted to be her boyfriend, wanted them to be exclusive, but he wasn't entirely sure how to bring that up. That was something that they had sworn wasn't going to happen when they first started this little event as friends with benefits. But he had fallen for her. Hard. And he had no idea if she felt the same way about him.

Serena got a text from Blair, asking her to come over as soon as possible. Serena sighed. She had just left there earlier this morning. What could have happened that was so awful in such a short period of time.

"Everything okay?" Nate inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"No," Serena said honestly. With much regret, she rose to her feet. "I'm so sorry but I've got to go."

"Why?" Nate asked, confused. Had he done something to offend her?

"It's Blair," Serena said. "She's hysterical. I'm her best friend, I have to be there-"

"I get it," Nate cut off. "It's okay. Go to her. I'm sure she needs you. We'll reschedule, okay? How about dinner?"

"I'd like that," Serena said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for being so understanding."

Nate shrugged. "I'm awesome, what can I say?"

Serena laughed and rolled her eyes, walking out of the cafe to head towards Blair's penthouse.

When she arrived, she didn't find Blair in her room. She found her in the bathroom, slumped down in between the toilet and the tub. She ran to her side. "What is it? What's wrong?" Serena asked, concerned about her best friend's behavior. Blair said nothing, just sobbed into Serena. Serena looked around, trying to figure it out. That was when she realized that Blair was holding something tightly in her hand. It was thin white stick. Serena's eyes went wide as her mind registered what it was, registered the scenario. She gently tugged it out of Blair's hand and stared down at it, hoping she was reading it wrong. It was positive.

Blair was pregnant.

* * *

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! :D **This chapter is SO SHORT. I am SO SORRY. I really am. I just felt like I said all I needed to say and put in all the scenes I wanted. I also really wanted to leave it at this cliffhanger. Please don't kill me! I know there isn't much Chair in this chapter like you all asked and I know you all hate Eva and how she's worming her way back into his life but just be patient, loves. ;) Now EVERYTHING will change! Chapter five will be up soon. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Nate watched as Serena picked through her salad, poking at the green leaves on her plate. He swallowed and placed his fork down. Serena looked up at him through eyes that were full of emotion. "Is everything alright?" Nate asked. "You've been really quiet and you aren't eating."

"Yeah," Serena sighed and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I'm just...just worried."

"About?" Nate inquired.

"Just...a friend," Serena said, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Blair?" Nate assumed.

Serena nodded. "She's going through a lot right now and now she and Chuck aren't speaking and I just feel really-"

"Wait, they aren't speaking?" Nate interrupted.

Serena looked genuinely shocked. "You didn't know that?"

"No, he said he was going to apologize to her…" Nate trailed off.

"Oh, well, he did," Serena said. "But I guess it wasn't enough and Blair didn't want to hear it as she was still upset with him. Maybe it's her fault, I don't really know. I know she overreacts sometimes but, still-"

Nate cut her off again. "Look, Serena, Chuck's ex girlfriend is back in town and they were out all night the other night, the night he and Blair first got into it. He came back and just looked so lost with life and I told him he should talk to Blair. I don't know what happened when he talked to her but obviously it didn't go well. I heard him call Eva last night…"

Serena's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God," she muttered into her hands. "Oh my God. This can't be happening."

Nate gave her a weird look.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I have to tell you something Nate, and you have to SWEAR you won't tell Chuck"

Nate looked concerned. "Tell me. What's going on?"

"Blair's pregnant," Serena blurted, looking just as shocked as Nate felt. She still hadn't exactly come to terms with the fact.

"Oh no," Nate groaned, massaging his temples. "This is just awful."

"I know," Serena said, looking down at her lap. "I feel so sorry for Blair. Now Chuck's probably running off with his ex girlfriend somewhere and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Blair started it by bringing up going out with Louis!" Nate defended his best friend's honor.

Serena stared at him. "But she wasn't actually going to go."

"Are you sure about that?"

Serena stood up, throwing her napkin down on the table. "Yes, I'm sure about that, Nate," she said. Anger flashed across her eyes as she stared at him. "Don't turn this around on her. This begins and ends with Chuck."

"Are you kidding?" Nate said. "It takes two people to make this big of a mess."

Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry but I have to side with Blair on this one." And with those final words, she turned and walked right out of the restaurant.

Nate stared after her. "What the hell?" He muttered to no one in particular. He sighed and called the waiter over to get the check. He wasn't going to chase after Serena. She had pissed him off by putting all of the blame on Chuck. After he paid, he decided to head back to his suite, where he found Chuck sitting on the couch, a glass of scotch in his hand.

"Nathaniel," Chuck greeted, slurring his words.

He was drunk. That was just great.

"Chuck," Nate said hesitantly. He knew what he needed to do. Though it wasn't his place to tell, he had to. Chuck had every right to know. "I have to talk to you about something." He sat down on the couch across from Chuck, who stared at him questioningly. "Serena and I got into a fight today…"

"I'm very sorry about your petty fight with your cute little girlfriend, Nathaniel," Chuck joked. This was only making it harder.

"No," Nate said slowly. "Chuck, we got into a fight about you and Blair."

Chuck's eyes flickered upward, catching on the look on Nate's face. He swallowed hard. It had been a few days since anyone had said her name out loud.

Nate's mind was searching for the words, unsure of how to say it, how to let it come out. "Blair's pregnant."

The glass of scotch slipped out of Chuck's hand and fell to the floor with a crash, the alcohol immediately seeping into the carpet. "Wh-what?" Chuck stammered.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, she's pregnant. Blair's pregnant with your child."

"But...how's this possible?"

"Well, Charles, when two people-"

Chuck held his hand up to stop him from continuing. Nate was trying to make a joke to ease the tension, to make Chuck feel better, but it hadn't worked. His stomach was churning and his brain was flying at a million miles and hour. "Chuck, I'm sorry," Nate tried to console him. Chuck shook his head, still saying nothing. He stared down at his hands. Nate stood up and cleaned up the mess Chuck had made and then retreated to his room, deciding on leaving Chuck alone with his thoughts.

Chuck sat there for what felt like hours. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to feel? Because the number one thing he felt right now was guilt. He had left Blair all alone and she had no one there to help her. Of course, she had Serena, but that wasn't the same as having the father of your own child there beside you along the way. He had been seeing a lot of Eva lately, which was making this entire scenario extremely difficult. He wasn't sure that he even wanted to get back together with Eva. He just enjoyed her company and how kind she was to him. She always sat and listened to him talk about Blair for hours on end. So what was he supposed to do now?

* * *

Blair lay in her bed, the comforter pulled up tightly around her body, sobbing these huge, body-shaking sobs. She hadn't spoken to Chuck in days and she sure as hell wasn't planning on telling him about what was going on. That wasn't the best way to begin speaking again. Of course, he did deserve to know, but this was so much harder than just calling him up and telling him something simple. This was so complex, so not Chuck Bass. "Blair," a deep voice came from the doorway of her room.

If she wasn't so prone to feeling his presence before she even saw him, she would have thought she was hallucinating. There was no way he was there...but yet he was. He was standing before her. She ripped the blanket down from over her head and stared at him, standing in the doorway, clad in a nice suit, with his hair done up just the way she liked it. These next few moments were precious. What was he going to do? Why was he here? Should she say something? She decided on allowing him time to speak first. When he said nothing and simply stared at her, she cleared her throat. Her voice came out raw and pained in her numb throat. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Chuck looked down at his feet. "Blair… I know what's going on."

Her eyes went wide. "You do? How-"

"Serena told Nate," Chuck said softly. He looked back up at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Blair sighed and wiped her tears. "Chuck...we hadn't spoken in days, we broke up, it was just really awful timing for everything to be happening. I was going to tell you, I really was. I just didn't know how or what to say to you." She bit her lip. "I didn't want you to feel like you had to get back together with me or something because you felt bad." She looked down. "I didn't want you to have to feel like you have to be in this child's life."

"What?" Chuck said. "Of course I want to be in our child's life. Why would you even say that?"

"It's just," Blair began, playing with the corner of her sheets to keep herself preoccupied. "I just thought that maybe fatherhood wasn't in the lifestyle for Chuck Bass."

"Blair," Chuck said, taking a few long strides to stand by her side. "This is my child, too. We created it together. This is our baby. Of course I'm going to take responsibility for this. My father may be an asshole but he raised me to be accountable."

A tear slipped down Blair's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"To get pregnant?" Chuck laughed, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I know you didn't. It's okay. We'll figure this out." He took her hand as he sat down on the bed next to her and gave it a tight squeeze. "Together."

* * *

Rufus was throwing back some shots at the bar with Nate when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. "It's my daughter," he told Nate, who raised his eyebrows at him. Rufus went to take the call from Serena, who was crying and upset about a fight with the guy she had been seeing.

Nate watched Rufus talk on the phone to Serena, the most caring expression on his face. He hoped Serena was okay but to be honest, he was still kind of mad about how she had acted earlier. She'd acted very childish and immature, blaming Blair and Chuck's problems on Chuck only. Not to mention, she was probably mad that he had told Chuck about Blair being pregnant but it was only right. He felt his chest tighten at the fact that he still hadn't told Rufus or Serena that he knew either of them. He felt like that might only add more problems.

A cute brunette came up to the bar and started flirting with Nate. She tried to introduce herself but he didn't care in the least. He ignored her as she kissed on his neck and he tried to think about Serena. He really cared about her, which was very rare in the case of Nate Archibald. He sighed and tried to clear his head, still ignoring the fact that this girl was literally all over him.

Rufus came back and tried not to laugh at the scene. He picked up his coat off of the back of the barstool.

"Where are you going?" Nate asked.

"I just need to get home," Rufus said. "I'm really tired."

This was a lie. He wasn't tired. He was actually going to stop by Lily's, secretly, he didn't want her to know he was even there. Serena had mentioned something about Lily being sad, so he was just going to see if he could catch a glimpse of her while she slept. He knew that sounded entirely creepy but he didn't really care. He missed her so much.

As he crept into the penthouse that he used to share with his wife, his phone began to go off. He fumbled for it in his pocket, hoping she wouldn't hear it. The downstairs was dark, so he knew she was already up in her room. He looked at the caller identification and realized it was none other than Lily herself calling him. He answered quickly, out of breath. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," Lily greeted. "Why are you whispering?"

"Oh, Dan and Jen are just really tired," Rufus said. "We had a long day over here." He looked upstairs, seeing that her bedroom door was closed but the light was on.

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Rufus said. "How are you, Lil?"

"I'm okay," Lily said.

Rufus sighed quietly, keeping his eyes on the door. "I'm really sorry about earlier and how I acted. Thank you for coming to pick me up and keeping me out of trouble. It was the adult thing to do, especially considering out situation."

"It's not a problem," Lily said.

There was silence on both ends of the line.

"So," Rufus cleared his throat. "Is there a reason you're calling or are you simply calling to chat with your soon-to-be ex husband?"

Lily swallowed. "Yeah, sorry. Um...the heater's broken again. I forgot what you used to do to fix it, so I was just hoping you could walk me through the steps."

Rufus tried to hold back a laugh and a smirk overcame his face. The heater was working just fine. He could currently feel it. She must have just wanted to talk to him. "Alright, are you in the attic?" he asked.

"Yes," Lily lied.

There was no movement from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Okay, go to the panel, make sure the top three switches are on," Rufus explained, the grin on his face growing larger. "Then flip the bottom one back and forth twice and it should kick on."

Lily was silent for a moment before she let out a fake sigh. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," Rufus said.

"Well, I'll let you go. I really appreciate your help. It was getting pretty cold around here. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay," Rufus said, smiling as he hung up the phone. He turned and got back onto the elevator, feeling completely elated and bubbly. She had just been calling to talk, to hear his voice. That had to mean something, right? He didn't want to get his hopes up in fear that she had just been lonely, but he couldn't help himself. He missed his wife dearly. For a moment, he felt like everything might go back to normal. He missed normal. He missed his family.

* * *

Nate's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pushed the brunette off of him. Serena was calling him. He hesitated on answering and then decided to. "Hello?" he spoke into the phone, his throat dry.

"Nate," Serena said. "It's so good to hear your voice."

"Is everything alright?" Nate asked.

"Yeah," Serena said. "I'm really sorry about our fight today. It was stupid. Like how awful...Chuck and Blair are going through a lot and it's neither of their faults. We should have never argued over something that ridiculous. We have our own problems, we don't need to be involved with theirs."

Nate nodded in agreement and then, realizing she couldn't see him, talked. "Yeah, I'm sorry too, Serena. I missed you. I'd like to see you."

"Meet at your place in twenty?" Serena chirped.

"Yeah, sounds great," Nate said, grinning. He closed his phone and got up and went to his suite. Chuck wasn't around and he hoped and prayed he was at Blair's, working things out with her. Serena came in and ran and basically attacked Nate, her lips on his, her legs wrapped around his waist. They tore apart when they heard the front door open, to see Chuck and Blair entering, his hand placed on the small of her back, leading her inside. They were whispering. Serena watched them with a smile on her face.

"Hey!" Serena said.

Chuck and Blair looked up at her and both smiled.

"Everything okay now?" Nate asked quizzically, raising his eyebrows at Chuck, who nodded in return.

"We are going to go ahead and go to bed," Chuck said.

"It's been a long day," Blair added in agreement.

With that, they retired to Chuck's bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"I'm so glad they worked things out," Serena said excitedly, turning back to Nate.

"Me too," Nate said, slithering his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her close to him. "What do you say to a bottle of wine and some good music and just a nice good talk?"

"I would love that," Serena smiled.

They sipped on wine and talked for hours. When they finally realized how late it was and were about to head to bed, Chuck ran out of his bedroom, his face as pale as a ghost, his eyes full of concern and even tears. "What happened?" Nate asked, jumping to his feet.

"Blair…" Chuck said. "She lost a lot of blood. I think it's...I think it's the baby."

* * *

**A/N: Don't kill me. Sorry for the delay.**


End file.
